I agree, long gone are the days that when a 20Km piece of dark fiber is purchased everyone bricks themselves. We no longer need to purchase expensive SDH/SONET tin to spit a packet further than across the corridor.

Despite this, and speaking as a 'nethead' I can't help but cough when everyone starts shouting for the death of all things telco. It's just not going to happen any time soon.

IP kit is edging it's way in from the outside inwards, I agree! But an absolute death of SONET? Grow up.

Seasons change my friends, and as they do new technologies shall emerge and mature. However, not only are 90% of ethernet based l2 mpls vpns carried using IPoverSDH, I am not seeing options on GBICs suitable for transcontinental interlinks.

Telco equipment has had eons to mature, and provides SLA's that IP equipment isn't even close to meeting.

I agree, Ethernet is kicking butt, and shall not reach it's zenith for quite some time. I disagree that SONET is dead.

I agree with this commenter. I think SONET will be around for many years to come.